School District Reduces Energy Use, Saves $160,000

The Fort LeBoeuf School District in northwest Pennsylvania is saving more than $160,000 annually after having SmartEdge complete a multi-phase facility enhancement program.

The first phase of the plan, implemented at a cost of $1.3 million, focused on four of the district’s five school buildings. SmartEdge completed upgrades to interior and exterior lighting, installed new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system controls, optimized boiler plant operations, retro-commissioned major HVAC equipment, rebalanced air flows and installed a new high efficiency chiller.

The second phase of SmartEdge’s plan focused on the Robison Elementary facility and improved energy efficiency as well as safety and security systems. The $3.3 million enhancements included upgrades to interior and exterior lighting, installation of a new HVAC system and associated direct digital controls, installation of new windows, upgrades to fire and security systems, and installation of a new district-wide telephone system.

The first phase of the program, completed in December 2012, has reduced annual electrical consumption by more than 965,000 kWh, about 30 percent, and annual gas consumption by over 37,000 centum cubic-feet (ccf), or 24 percent. Based on current energy costs, the reduced consumption lowers annual utility bills by $110,000 while operations and maintenance cost savings are an additional $19,000 annually.

The work at Robison Elementary will generate energy savings of 166,000 kWh of electricity and almost 8,000 ccf of natural gas. This will provide an additional utility cost savings of $22,000 and savings of $12,000 in operations and maintenance.

The improvements at Robison Elementary enabled the school to increase its EnergyStar rating from 84 to 99. Other district schools saw similar gains. The high school improved to 72 from 21, the middle school to 84 from 54, while one elementary school saw its EnergyStar rating rise from 36 to 81 and the other went from 12 all the way to 84.